http://www.theage.com.au/world/dodgy-indonesian-taxman-skips-jail-to-attend-tennis-20101116-17vu7.html
Dodgy Indonesian taxman skips jail to attend tennis Tom Allard, Jakarta November 17, 2010 THE appearance of Indonesia's most notorious corrupt tax official, Gayus Tambunan, in an ill-fitting wig at a Bali tennis tournament has illustrated, in absurd relief, the entrenched culture of graft in the country. Mr Gayus is a mid-level tax official who, despite a modest monthly salary of $1400, amassed a $3.2 million fortune. He came to national fame when he was mysteriously acquitted of corruption charges in March. It later emerged that he had paid the judges, prosecutors and police huge sums to get the charge reduced to a minor embezzlement offence, which was then dismissed. Mr Gayus was promptly arrested, along with, curiously, the man who alerted the public to the affair, senior police officer Susno Duadji. Mr Susno was pinged for another alleged corrupt deal involving a fish farm, although it was widely viewed as payback for his whistleblowing. But, not deterred with twice being caught making corrupt payments, or the fact he is one of the most high-profile prisoners in Indonesia, Mr Gayus confessed on Monday that he had paid more than $40,000 to be allowed to walk out of prison, reportedly on 68 occasions. It was an admission that was slow in coming, prompted when a man resembling Mr Gayus in a wig and glasses was photographed by the Jakarta Globe newspaper at the Tournament of Champions tennis tournament in Bali almost two weeks ago. Suggestions it was Mr Gayus were dismissed by the police as ''totally groundless''. On Monday, Mr Gayus came clean, breaking down in tears before a panel of judges at his reconvened court case. ''To put an end to this polemic, I admit that the man in Bali was me,'' he said. ''I have been so stressed since being detained and I thought I would take a little vacation because I also saw that several other high-profile detainees were allowed to leave.'' The trip to Bali included a three-night stay at the luxury Westin Hotel in Nusa Dua for My Gayus, his wife and seven-year-old son. The confession prompted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to demand a full briefing on the case yesterday, saying that it was ''tainting'' the country's reputation. His officials are promising a full and transparent investigation and prosecution of the guards. But anti-corruption activists say they have heard it all before. ''It's just the tip of the iceberg,'' said Donal Fariz from Indonesian Corruption Watch, adding that most of the large companies, senior police and prosecutors identified by Mr Gayus as bribing him have not been prosecuted. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
